To ask for help in substituting a cheaper pregnancy craving before I bankrupt us?

[LeapingUpstream]

This is possibly the most ridiculous problem I have ever considered bringing to Mumsnet, but I'm actually at my wit's end: I'm currently 18 weeks pregnant and for the last fortnight have been absolutely obsessed with smoked salmon. It's not something I usually eat or even particularly like, but now it's all I want, in vast quantities, at every meal.

Tried cheating with smoked mackerel yesterday and it was definitely not an acceptable alternative.

Assuming this means I'm lacking omega 3 or something so have started a supplement, but it doesn't seem to have helped. Frantically hoping someone can suggest something that might hit similar taste/ texture spots? I can't think of anything and it's driving me mad.

Or, failing that, how do I get rid of the craving!? Even rationing myself the current rate of consumption is not sustainable, but I'm literally catching myself daydreaming about it. Woke up at 5am today thinking about it, and ended up buying a packet on the way back from the school run and eating it for breakfast 😳. Husband and I are both wfh today and he's just offered to make bacon sandwiches for lunch... all I can think is that smoked salmon ones would be much better. Particularly if he gave me all the smoked salmon and ate the nasty, non-salmony bacon himself 😂.

Last pregnancy I just wanted cheese and onion crisps, but much less strongly than this, (and besides, I could have eaten an Aldi multipack a day for the whole forty weeks for less than I've already spent on salmon 😫) and in my first pregnancy I didn't have any cravings, so it's not something I've ever tried to deal with before!

Help!

I love smoked salmon but wouldn’t dream of touching it when pregnant. Nor shellfish.

How about getting some smoked salt and adding that to dishes? Also second the smoked nuts idea.
https://www.cornishseasalt.co.uk/products/smoked-sea-salt-50g

Anchovies?

Pakora ! Remembering the many many times I dragged my DH into Indian restaurants.
My son is 40 next year

Take some multi vitamins as well as some cod liver oil tablets. It’s possible it’s your bodies wah of telling you that your vitamins are off. I ate 6 cucumbers a day when I was pregnant…..not expensive but for weird looks on the bus 🤣

3 teas!

Sod that!

I ignored the NHS when I was pregnant as it was one craze after another. With DS1 it was no soft boiled eggs. Catford market hasd duvk eggs so I scoffdd them. All soft and runny. The midwife almost choked on her spleen. It was a beautiful experience.

OP, it's a craving, not a lifestyle. Enjoy.

pardon?

Smoked mackerel pate. You can make a big pot of it for little ££££s.
BBC good food recipe I think.

Maybe try grilled aubergines, until they're really charry like you'd do them for baba ganoush, with lots of olive oil and salt, left to go cold. It might hit some of the right salty/smoky/dense/almost slimy/umami notes.

I’ve seen posts online of people making tuna sashimi alternative out of watermelon!

hot smoked salmon salmon is ok. And it goes a lot further - as it’s flaked already. So may be cheaper and safer.

I'd be thinking about the chemicals in it if it's not organic or wild salmon. Farmed salmon is absolutely full of chemicals. Even wild salmon I would only have a couple times a week maximum.

Work on ways to ignore / not follow cravings. I have eating issues normally, mainly binging, and had to work on this during pregnancy. Managed Ok. I find the idea that we’re powerless over urges about food during pregnancy or that it’s harmful to ignore the urges unhelpful.

It's a bit of a faff to make, but vegan sushi with tomato sashimi! Same texture as salmon and so fresh and gorgeous 😍

Oh its not exactly cheap as you'd have to buy a sushi rolling mat if you don't have one, nori and sushi rice, sushi rice vinegar etc but it takes quite a long time so that would put you off nailing it on a daily basis 😉 good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!

With that whole thing of 'what would your child's name be if they were named after the food you craved while pregnant with them?' it always entertains me that my son's name would be Rebel Whopper.

Thepassageoftime Undergoing chemo at present so similar restrictions re food /drink .3 teas a day.I am limiting myself to 3 decaff teas! Smoked salmon is not safe either .Also too mich vit A is also dangerous to pregnant ladies!

@TeaGinandFags do you think the NHS just gives advice based on a whim?

An acquaintance of mine claims smoked carrots are exactly the same as a smokes salmon.

The problems here are that (a) they are smoked, (b) they are carrots, (c) where can you get them, (d) my acquaintance is a bit of a twat.

I'm vegan, but used to love smoked salmon. Carrot lox (Google for recipes) saved me. That said, it had been a long time since I'd had the real deal. But worth a try.

I don't smoke my 'smoked salmon' carrots they're roasted in a salt bath then pickled. Some recipes add liquid smoke, but I never have because I don't know what it is! Disclaimer: some might say I'm also bit a bit of a twat.

It's pretty much what you'd expect — they heat/burn the wood (hickory is the one I've seen, when they specify a particular type of wood) and condense the smoke on a surface or something so they can collect it (same as it would condense on the surface of meat, I guess). I believe they then distill it to separate out the part of the mixture that they want, and remove the parts they don't want.

I think some manufacturers do then add other flavours, but you should be able to get hold of "natural" liquid smoke flavour.

You've got to be careful with it though; if you use it wrong you can end up with some revolting results 🤣

Luckily mine were carrots and monster munch so far cheaper!

I bought my daughter some vegan salmon from Aldi - it looked like the real thing and she said it tasted good - I don't see it on sale very often but it's worth having a look out for it. It's their own vegan range.

Thank you for that! 😊